A copy of Pliny's Historiae mundi libri XXXVII (Lyon, 1587) bearing a label on its cover which reads "The gifte of Dame Saint Johns wife to Sr. Olivar St. Johns of Battersea in Surrey". This label is attached to the front board under a horn and brass frame.

Joan was already a widow, having been married to Sir William Holcroft, when she married Oliver St John, who became Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1616. She survived him by only two months.